Donald Trump signs new coronavirus rescue plan, after blocking it for days

The outgoing President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed a new economic recovery plan for 900 billion dollars, after several days of refusal to do so and millions of people losing their unemployment benefits.

Trump signed the $ 2.3 trillion bill Sunday afternoon at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he is on vacation, the White House has confirmed.

This package, known as the Omnibus, includes the second stimulus package approved this year in the United States and $ 1.4 trillion to finance the Administration until September 2021.

The bailout package signed by Trump includes an unemployment benefit of $ 300 per week, $ 325 billion in business assistance (including $ 275 billion for payroll), $ 45 billion for public transport, $ 82 billion for schools and thousands of millions in food vouchers, tenant assistance and vaccine distribution.

After five days of refusing to sign the bill and demanding changes, Trump apparently backed down to prevent Monday night from funds for administration will be exhausted and hundreds of thousands of employees will have their wages suspended.

“I sign this omnibus and covid-19 package with a resounding message that makes it clear to Congress that unnecessary points in the law must be removed,” Trump said in a statement.

The president assured that, although he signed the bill, he still hopes that Congress will approve a change in the point which envisages the sending of a one-time payment of $ 600 millions of taxpayers to offset the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.

After his own government negotiated the amount of $ 600, Trump demanded increase this amount to $ 2000, and in his statement, he recalled that the lower house had planned to vote on Monday to make this change, which the Republican leaders oppose.

Trump assured that the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, “will begin the process of voting to increase the checks to $ 2,000”.

But in a subsequent statement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell limited himself to thanking Trump for signing the bill, and did not mention any possible vote Senators must make changes.

Trump has also assured that he will return the administration’s fundraising plan with highlighted parts to Congress for changes to be made, but it is not clear lawmakers will change anything.

The head of state threatened last Tuesday to block the law though several points have not been changed, from increasing direct payments to Americans to reducing foreign aid.

His refusal to sign the law led to the expiration of two programs providing unemployment benefits between 10 and 14 million Americans, and this will now be renewed when the law comes into force.

Trump’s blocking of the bill deserved it reviews members of his party, and had it lasted until January 1, it would have ended a national veto on deportations, affecting some 30 million Americans.

Source: agencies